Miraculous (1-3): Revelation
by OneLittleSpark18
Summary: After the Season 1 finale battle with Volpina, Adrien/ Chat Noir decides it's about time he finds out who the girl under the spotted mask is. Nothing will stop our Chat-tective! A short, fluffy beginning into a larger world... I do not own any of the Miraculous characters. I do extensive research on the episodes I write about so the story is as accurate as possible. Enjoy!
1. The Lady and Kitty

**Hey readers! I decided to go through some of my original stories to update/fix/add some stuff as I read. I've updated all of Miraculous: Revelation, so be on the look out for updated/refreshed versions of my other stories!**

Chapter 1: The Lady and the Kitty

 ** _General POV_**

Volpina cackled maniacally as she dangled Adrien off the top of the Eiffel Tower. "Give me your Miraculous NOW or I will…" she shook Adrien, causing him to slip ever so slightly.

Ladybug couldn't believe Volpina would actually drop him. "I thought you loved him!"

Volpina's face quirked into a cruel smile. "Not as much as seeing you two defeated." She pulled Adrien up to eye level. "No hard feelings, right?"

Chat Noir knew that the Adrien Volpina was holding hostage was a fake; somehow, he needed to convince Ladybug of the fact without revealing his secret identity. "You're bluffing! It's just another illusion!"

"You wanna bet on that?" The villainess shook "Adrien" again, gradually losing her grip until…

"NO!" Ladybug screamed, fear ripping from the deepest point inside her. She couldn't risk letting the boy she loved- her friend- fall to his death on her behalf. She started to remove her earrings.

Chat Noir could not comprehend why Ladybug would give up her Miraculous for Adrien Agreste, but he knew that she should not, COULD NOT, give it up for a lie. "Don't do it, Ladybug!" He had to get her to see that this was a trick. Chat threw his baton as hard as he could at Volpina.

Ladybug watched the baton fly in slow motion. "NOOOO!" she screamed again before seeing Adrien and Volpina vanish in a puff of smoke. _It… it was all… a lie_? _An illusion?_ Ladybug knew the rest of her thoughts would have to wait until the end of the battle.

 ** _After the defeat of Volpina…_**

Ladybug knew she needed to check on Adrien after Volpina and the akuma had been taken care of. When she arrived in his room, she heard the shower running. "Adrien? Are you there? Is everything okay?"

Chat Noir had made it back just in time to turn the shower on. "Yeah, yeah. I just had to grab a shower after all this excitement!"

"Oh, yeah, sure. I'm sorry, I'll be off then…"

"Thank you!"

Unbeknownst to each other, Ladybug and Chat Noir placed their heads on the door that divided them, each pining for the one they knew they could not have. Ladybug was the first to break away and leapt out the window. Chat Noir came out of the bathroom and sighed as he watched his partner swing away.

"Plagg, claws out." The boy de-transformed as the kwami exited the ring, immediately searching for his beloved Camembert cheese. Adrien had had enough of this. "Plagg, I need to find out who she is."


	2. Rooftop Conversation

Chapter 2: Rooftop Conversation

 ** _Chat Noir's POV_**

As he flew over the Paris rooftops that night, Chat Noir still could not get the thought out of his head. _Why would Ladybug give up her Miraculous for Adrien… I mean me… ADRIEN… AHH!_ He had to get some answers, maybe during his patrol tonight with Ladybug.

Their meeting spot was a few blocks from the Dupain-Cheng bakery where the best pastries in all of Paris (in Chat Noir's mind) were sold. _If they're still open, I'll swing by and pick some up after patrol…_ He landed at the rendezvous spot and noticed Ladybug was already there. She appeared shaken up after their battle with Volpina earlier that day.

"You alright, mi'Lady? You seem a bit… distracted…"

Ladybug jumped, not noticing that he had arrived. "Oh, hey Chat… I'm fine. Just tired after a long day." She looked down then looked out over Paris from where they sat. Chat Noir said nothing as he sat to observe their beautiful city with her.

"That was amazing, what you were going to do for that boy earlier." Chat Noir broke the silence.

"Yeah… I, uh… just didn't want an innocent to fall to their death…" Ladybug mumbled into her arm. Chat noticed she blushed a little. He poked her in the arm playfully to make her look at him.

"Ah! Do you have a soft spot for the young man? Maybe a…" His voice went an octave higher, " _crush_?" Ladybug turned as red as her suit with that comment.

"Whhaaa? I-I-uh… Nooooo…" She looked at his teasing face and knew it was impossible to refute him at this point. "Oh, shut up." Ladybug turned to look out at the city again when she felt Chat turn her towards him.

"No. Seriously, do you?" He had an urgent, almost desperate look in his deep green eyes. If the girl he loved liked his civilian side, it was only a matter of him before she fell for the hero. "Why don't we talk about this kind of stuff, Bugaboo? It can't be battles and villains all day every day. If we're going to really be an effective team, we need to be able to open up to each other." _Plus, this might help me figure out who you are_.

Ladybug considered this olive branch and sighed. "Fine, okay. Yes, I like him. I like Adrian Agreste… maybe more than like..." she mumbled the last bit, Chat pretending to not have heard. "I'm just like every other girl, crushing on the hottest model in Paris!" Ladybug hit her face with her palm.

Chat needed to know if there was something more at stake here. "So… do you only like him for his looks?" he asked, treading lightly.

Ladybug peeked out from behind her hands. "No! I mean, well, he is the handsomest boy I've ever laid eyes on –yes, present company included," noticing Chat's smirk, "but there's so much more to him than that! I've seen him around and Adrien is one of the kindest and sweetest people on the planet. He'll play and pose with younger kids for photos, he's kind to his classmates, even if they sometimes don't deserve it, and he just has this… this… _peaceful_ demeanor that I have seen in no one else." Ladybug's gaze wandered as she described the boy.

Chat's heart warmed as he heard how the love of his life described his other side. Hearing how she talked about him made him want to be all of that and more. "See, you're NOT like every other girl in Paris." She looked at him quizzically.

"How do you mean?"

"Other girls swoon over his posters. You see past the posters into the person itself." Chat Noir tilted her chin up to meet his green gaze. "You always see the best in everything. That's why I love having you as a partner." He stood up to leave.

"Wait! Chat!" Ladybug scrambled to her feet. "You haven't told me who you like yet!"

Turning to face the way he had come, Chat Noir turned his head back and gave Ladybug a sincere smile. "Don't you know?" And with that, he was gone.


	3. Day of Discovery

Chapter 3: Day of Discovery

 ** _Adrien's POV_**

Adrien's bedroom was enormous. It included a rock climbing wall, a basketball half-court, skateboard ramps, and a zip line. His father had installed all of it and more in attempts to keep Adrien inside and happy. There was something in Adrien's room, however, that his father didn't know about.

Being a model, Adrien had a good deal of clothes, not all of which were his style. His father let him know which outfits he must absolutely keep and which ones he did not. Adrien kept those and his favorites in one of his two large closets where there was room to spare. His other closet he had modified with a false back to keep anything related to his double life a secret. It was in this secret room where Adrien had set up a "conspiracy" board of everything he knew about Ladybug.

In the center, there was a newspaper clipping of a picture of Ladybug facing the camera head-on, almost posing for it. Around the photo, there were various pieces of evidence and clues Adrien had collected that related to Ladybug's identity: a screen shot of the 10th grade _Historie_ textbook Alya had picked up on one of her LadyBlog trips; a copy of the Valentine's Day poem he had written to Ladybug; the mysterious poem he had received as a response; a list of girls from his class year with their photos; random scribbles of information he had learned from his time with Ladybug in general.

Adrien wrote down the new information he learned about Ladybug's crush and added it to the board. Plagg sat in the little cushion Adrien had scrounged up for him, munching on a piece of Camembert. "So you learned something new?"

"Plagg! She likes me… I mean, really ME as Adrien!" He still couldn't believe it. "But how can this help me learn who she really is?" Plagg kept chewing his cheese.

"Okay, let's start simple: how did you know to look at the girls in your class? Why did you narrow it down to those 8?"

"Exhibit A: the textbook. I have the exact same textbook and when Alya first posted about it on the LadyBlog, she noted that our school was the only one in the city that uses them for our grade.

"Exhibit B: the poem. I know it may not have been smart to write a poem to Ladybug at school, but I wanted to try and get something down on paper. That was the only copy I wrote when I gave up and threw it away in the trashcan in the classroom. The only way someone could have answered it would be if they went through the trash. Thus, one of the 8 girls in my class is Ladybug!" Adrien smiled triumphantly.

Plagg finished his Camembert and floated over to the poem pinned to the board. " _Your hair black as night, / Your pretty blue bell eyes, / I wonder who you are, beneath that strong disguise, / Every day we see each other, / And hoping that you'll be mine, / Together our love will be so true, / Please would you be my Valentine?_ Wow. I forgot how sappy that was." Adrien swatted at the kwami.

"Plagg! Be serious. Help me figure this out." The two looked at the board in detail. "Thought: My hair and features don't change much when I transform; my hair just parts a little differently. Is that how it goes with all Miraculouses?"

Plagg shrugged. "Typically, the transformation will alter something, but not much. What are you thinking?" His boy moved to the collection of markers on the desk he recently stashed in the secret room.

"One of the things I immediately notice about Ladybug are her gorgeous blue eyes. Since my eyes stay green, I'm assuming hers stay the same as well." He moved to the board and crossed Juleka, Alya, and Mylene off of the list. "None of them have her 'blue bell eyes'."

"What about the 'hair black as night'?" Plagg asked. "Out of the girls with blue eyes left, who's got the darkest hair?"

Adrien's marker crossed off the girls one by one until only one remained: the shy girl who stumbled over herself and her words whenever she was around him. _Marinette_. He circled her picture in red and stood back away from the board. He was stunned. He had to get out of the enclosed space. Adrien and Plagg exited the closet and Adrien flopped down on his comfortable bed.

" _Marinette_ … Could it really be her Plagg?"

"I dunno. All your evidence fits. Is there anything you can think of that makes sense now?"

Adrien thought back to all of the times he had been with Ladybug and Marinette – although, he had never seen them in the same place at the same time. Whenever one disappeared, the other appeared almost out of thin air. He chuckled to himself. She was also the only other person in their class, besides himself, that hadn't been akumatized. It was easier than he had thought, almost kicking himself for not seeing it sooner.

"Plagg, why haven't I been able to see these signs before? Now that I see them, they're kind of obvious."

Plagg shrugged his tiny shoulders. "It's long and complicated; but basically, it's magic. Don't question the powers that be."

The boy chuckled. "Is that code for 'I don't know?'"

As Plagg proceeded to list off all of the kwami and Miraculous facts that he _did indeed_ know, Adrien flopped backwards onto his bed, looking up to the ceiling. A grin overtook his face. He had found his Lady; his smile faltered. How was he going to approach her now that he knew?


	4. Balcony Scene

Chapter 4: Balcony Scene

 ** _Marinette's POV_**

It had been a long day of school and fighting akumas. Ladybug landed on her balcony and dropped down into her room to safely de-transform. It was Friday night, but Marinette had been procrastinating her homework for days and needed to get it done. She noticed how beautiful the night had been on her way back from patrol. The nighttime weather in Paris was normally still chilly around April; however tonight was relatively warm night with a bright full moon. Marinette decided to do her homework outside on the balcony.

Before she settled in, Marinette gathered the essentials: her favorite comfy lounge pants, a blanket, popcorn and macaroons (to cover salty and sweet), a bottle of water, and her phone. Marinette tucked a tired Tikki into the little bed she had made the kwami and left her some cookies and water. Marinette then took her stuff and her homework up to the balcony and plopped it in front of her chair. As she plugged in the twinkle lights, Marinette noticed a rose lying on the wall next to her chair.

This was the fourth rose that had appeared on her balcony this month. Yes, she had a box of roses growing right next to that wall, but those were red. These roses were all different colors and had notes attached.

The first was a yellow rose with the note _'Joy'_. The second pink rose materialized a week later with _'Gratitude and Appreciation'_. The third lavender rose appeared the next week: _'Enchantment, Majesty, It Was Love at First Sight'_.

It had now been exactly one week since the last rose showed up. Right on time. This was a white rose. Marinette had never seen a rose so beautiful. She lifted it carefully to avoid the thorns and fingered the note attached. _'Pure'_. That was the only word. _Pure_.

Her time as Ladybug had given Marinette a heightened awareness she had not had before; she felt she was being watched.

"I know you're out there! I don't know who you are, but I don't appreciate being spied on." She was met with silence. Marinette shook her head and sighed. Maybe she was still on a Ladybug high.

As she turned to sit in her chair and start her homework, Marinette heard something land on the railing. "Hey there Purrrincess."

Marinette was startled and started throwing the nearest thing she could grab – her macaroons. "AAAHHHHH!" She yelled as she threw the pastries. Chat Noir lifted his hands to deflect the tiny projectiles which pelted him. He managed to snag several in mid-air, devouring them.

"Wha-ho there! It's just me Princess! Cease the cake throwing. Unless you want to aim for my mouth," He gave her a classic Chat smirk. Marinette began to breathe normally.

"CHAT. What are you doing on my balcony?"

His smile fell and he blushed, looking sheepish. "I… uh… I-I wanted to see you, Marinette. I haven't really been able to since you helped with the Evillustrator. Remember how much fun that was?" He gave her a hopeful grin.

She glared at him, her arms crossed. Fun? She had to trust that Chat Noir had Marinette's back when Ladybug couldn't make an appearance to take down the Evillustrator the first time. While it was an interesting "trust exercise", it had also been extremely dangerous; not exactly her idea of fun.

"Chat," she said, softly yet seriously. "Why are you here?" His eyes wandered to the rose she had in her hands and looked up to meet her gaze. In response, she looked at the white rose, then back to him. "Wha… Chat?"

The agile feline slid off the railing and walked slowly, carefully towards the now red-faced girl. "Do you have a question, Princess?" She held up her hand to stop him and ran down her trapdoor, emerging a minute later with the other roses.

"Chat Noir, did you leave these for me?" Marinette gazed into his deep green eyes as he nodded. "Why? Why would you leave these here for me? I suppose you watch and wait for me to take them too?" She had intended that last comment to be sarcastic but based on Chat's reaction, it had rung true. "You DO wait for me? UGH! Chat! Why are you doing this? Based on Alya's blog, you have a thing for Ladybug, right? So why play around with a girl you barely kn- "

Marinette was cut off. She hadn't noticed Chat Noir stepping closer and closer until his lips met hers. At first, she was shocked. Chat Noir, Ladybug's partner - HER partner, was kissing her, Marinette. After the shock, it felt… to be honest… it felt _nice_. She was the first to break the spell. Pulling apart, her next words were in a breathless whisper.

"Why?"

"Don't you know… My Lady?" He briefly kissed her again then strode towards the railing. Looking back, he mumbled "Meet me at our usual spot tomorrow night, after you've had some time to think." He met her eyes one last time: "I love you, Princess. I always have." Chat Noir crossed the rooftops, lost to the night.

There was NO WAY Marinette could concentrate on homework now.


	5. At the Beginning

Chapter 5: At the Beginning

 ** _Chat Noir's POV_**

Chat Noir really didn't know what to expect that night. It had been almost a full 24 hours after he had visited Marinette. As Adrien, he had hung out with Nino, Alya, and Marinette earlier in the day. This gave him a chance to observe her since their late-night encounter.

 ** _Flashback to Earlier Saturday, Adrien's POV_**

The group wandered to the Dupain-Cheng bakery after school, happily munching on the sweet treats. Adrien noticed Marinette play the part of hostess, yet clearly pondering something that weighed heavy on her. Many glances were exchanged between Alya, Nino, and Adrien, but no one said anything.

Nino and Alya checked film times at the local cinema, noticing a movie they had all wanted to see would be starting soon. The foursome finished their confections and headed toward the theater. The most direct route was through the park. As they passed the statue commemorating Ladybug and Chat Noir, Marinette paused a moment. Alya lingered with her, nodding to Nino and Adrien that they would catch up.

Nino and Adrien waited outside the gate for the girls. "What was that about?" Nino mused. "We've all seen that statue, what? A thousand times on our way to school? Why'd she stop to look at it now? Did they add something we didn't notice?" Nino strained to see the statue from their position.

The afternoon sun did nothing to hide the blush beginning to creep up Adrien's neck. The boys turned their heads as the girls made their way towards them.

"Do you want me to come over and talk with you tonight?" Adrien heard Alya ask Marinette in a low voice. "You just stared at the Chat Noir statue for five straight minutes…"

Marinette shook her head. "No. I've got to go home after the film; there's something I've got to do tonight." Hearing that last comment made Adrien's heart beat so loud, he was afraid Marinette would hear it.

She briefly met his eyes and his blush increased. Her eyes scrunched together in thought then she shook it away. "Isn't the film starting in a few minutes? We still need to get tickets!"

 ** _Back to the Present, Chat Noir's POV_**

Chat Noir's mind was brought back to the present when he heard a thump behind him. Ladybug stood away from him, looking down at the zinc-tiled roof. He slowly stood, staring at her.

"You came."

"Of course I came." She met his eyes now. "We're still a team, I'd have to face you sometime… better sooner than later…" her voice trailed off at the end. Chat Noir noticed something in her hands.

"What are those, my Lady?" Ladybug approached him and gave him a few slips of paper. "These are the notes from the roses, aren't they?" She nodded.

"Will you tell me what they mean?"

"Of course." The duo sat on a blanket Chat Noir had brought. "My schooling is kind of weird. We'll do random units on stuff, outside of my regular class schedule; my father wants me to be 'well-rounded,'" Chat used air quotes. "We spent two weeks on the meanings of roses." He pulled out the first note.

"The first rose was yellow, which represents friendship or joy. I left this right after I figured out who you were. I was so happy that one of my best friends was you, I could have leapt for joy; hence the yellow rose.

"I watched you for a while from afar as well as during patrol, trying to get a glimpse of you are outside of the hero. I came back the next week and left the pink rose. While I consider you one of my closest friends, I feel myself falling for you more and more." Ladybug's eyes grew wider. "The pink rose represents love and appreciation.

"I figured once a week was enough to leave them, as to not overwhelm you." Chat's voice began to quaver slightly. "The lavender rose was a risk for me because… because it means…" He paused and looked her in the eyes, her beautiful blue bell eyes. "Marinette, it means love at first sight."

Ladybug gasped. "Chat! That can't be right!" She looked at the Eiffel Tower gleaming in the distance. "That first battle with Stoneheart was a disaster! I failed the first time we tried to stop him. How could you love _a failure_ the first time you saw her?" The young girl pulled her legs to her chest and placed her head on her knees.

Chat moved to sit on his knees and physically turned Ladybug towards him, her knees still to her chest. "That's _why_ it was love at first sight. Even when you messed up, you got back up again. You rallied yourself to do what needed to be done. After you gave that speech to Paris to always protect them, that's when I told myself, 'Whoever she is beneath that mask, I love that girl.'"

Ladybug felt the tears coming to her eyes. "And the white rose? _Pure_? Were you telling me that your feelings…"

"…are real, my Lady." He placed his forehead against hers and breathed in her scent of sugar and fresh baked bread.

She closed her eyes and leaned into her kitty. "So… you're not disappointed I'm… me?" Chat enveloped her in a reassuring hug.

"Never."

They sat in comfortable silence, neither wanting to break the spell. After a time, Ladybug glanced up.

"Kitty?"

"Yes, Mari?"

"Do I know you? Your civilian side, I mean." Chat Noir loosened his grip so he could really look at her.

"Do you want to know who I am? I mean, I kind of sprung the news on you that I knew. If you want to know, I don't mind."

Ladybug was quiet and still, contemplating her options. "Not right now."

Chat was surprised. "Really? You don't want to know?" Ladybug pushed away from him a little so they could discuss this.

"Well, I don't want to know right now. I was comfortable around you as both Marinette and Ladybug, because I could act differently. Marinette thought you were cocky and a show off…"

"Hey!"

"… But a good trustworthy guy; and Ladybug thought you were nothing but a big flirt." Chat looked at her curiously.

"What do you two think now?"


	6. Questions That Need Answering

Chapter 6: Questions That Need Answering

 **** ** _Ladybug's POV_**

Chat looked at her curiously. "What do you two think now?"

Ladybug looked at this young man who had entered her life so suddenly. True, he had been a flirt from the start, but always had her back. Remembering back to several of their battles, specifically against Timebreaker and Dark Cupid, Chat had even put himself in harm's way to save her. Even though she could take care of herself, it was nice there was someone who wanted her safe.

 _But what about Adrien?_ That was the question. Chat knew of her crush on Adrien; they had only talked about it a month ago. So why make his move now? It had been almost a year since Marinette developed feelings for the young model and had gotten nowhere.

It was then Ladybug thought back to one of the nights she had been writing in her diary. She had jotted down her thoughts about a certain black cat, noting that if Adrien were not in the picture she might look at Chat Noir differently…

"My Lady?" Chat waved a gloved hand in front of her face. She had been in quiet thought for several minutes now.

"Huh?" the teen hero blinked to clear her mind. "Oh, sorry." She shifted her position to get more comfortable. "Before I answer your question, you still haven't answered mine. Do I know who you are?" Chat Noir was confused.

"I thought you didn't want to know my secret identity right now?"

Ladybug inwardly groaned. _Boys_. "I don't want you to TELL me who you are right now. I just want to know if I DO know you. I need to get comfortable around Chat again without a mask to hide behind. Throwing your alter ego into the mix right now might be a bit much."

She watched him sigh and shake his head, causing his cat ears to flop around. He lifted his head, giving her one of his catty smiles. "If you say so, Purrrincess. And yes. You do know me. Satisfied?"

Ladybug took a deep breath in and nodded. She then made to leave. "I better go. Sunday morning is usually a busy time for the bakery and my parents will want me helping." Chat Noir stood to join her.

"One last question." Ladybug sighed.

"Alright Chat. Last one." He gazed deeply into her eyes.

"If I love you as Chat Noir, how am I supposed to hide who I am around Marinette?" Ladybug giggled.

"Just try really _really_ hard!" She gave him a quick kiss goodnight, but he turned it into something deeper. They pulled away almost reluctantly.

"Until next time, mi'Lady." Chat bowed then scampered off over the rooftops. Ladybug groaned and did a little dance of frustration. Even though she didn't give him a direct answer to his question, she knew. She knew there was no turning back. She was his Princess and he was her Silly Kitty.

Ladybug took one last look in the direction Chat had headed then began her own journey home.

 _Fin_

 **This is the end of this story. However, there are 2 more stories that tie into this series!** ** _The Kwami Code: A Tikki and Plagg Story_** **is set directly after** ** _Miraculous: Revelation_** **and during the week before the sequel** ** _Miraculous: Moments_** **. Both are worth a read if you enjoyed the tone and direction of this story!**

 **I tend to write sporadically, so who knows when I'll write something else. Thank you for your support and your kind words. Please keep an eye out for future stories because you never know.**

 _ **"One little spark, of inspiration/ Is at the heart, of all creation/ Right at the start, of everything that's new/ One little spark, lights up for you" -**_ **Journey into Imagination, EPCOT**


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